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Le Piton de la Fournaise, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and a main tourist attraction on the Réunion island, was evacuated Thursday as authorities warned of an imminent eruption.

The island's volcanic observatory, OVPF, registered a spike in seismic activity in the volcano, noting that the volcano was spewing out a large amount of gas and that the shape of the crater was changing in shape.

The report prompted authorities to issue an alert, warning of “a probable and imminent” eruption, and forced the evacuation of tourists and locals near the caldera of the volcano.

(A look at the volcano when it erupted in 2006. Photo: AFP)

The volcano, the name of which translates into “The Peak of the Furnace”, has already erupted twice this year; in February and in May, with the episodes lasting a few days each.

Some took to social media asking whether an eruption would interfere with the ongoing investigation into a suspected piece of debris that may come from the missing MH370 flight and which was discovered on Réunion's shores on Wednesday.

Tiny Reunion Island is getting invaded by intl journalists due to MH370 wreckage. And its volcano is about to erupt. https://t.co/HFiylTSZtc